The Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland has convicted former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
In its statement, the court confirmed that Sonko was an accomplice in the deliberate killing of a soldier suspected of participating in a coup in Banjul, Gambia’s capital, in January 2000.
The court also found Sonko complicit in the torture and unlawful detention of military personnel, politicians, and journalists connected to a coup attempt in Banjul in March 2006, as well as the murder of a former member of parliament in October 2011.
The court detailed that paramilitary unit Junglers committed torture and sexual crimes against journalists, opposition members, and suspected coup participants under orders from various leaders, including Sonko.
These acts, charged by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, occurred between January 2000 and September 2016. Sonko was mainly accused of collaborating with then-President Yahya Jammeh and leaders of the security forces and the prison service.
Sonko was charged and convicted in Switzerland after entering the country as an asylum seeker in 2016. In September 2016, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh had dismissed him from his long-standing position as Interior Minister.
Sonko lived undisturbed in Switzerland until his arrest in January 2017 and has been in custody since then.
This trial marks the first time a former interior minister has been tried for crimes against humanity in Switzerland.